Above: Whittle, a wildlife tour guid and photographer, is an enrolled member of the Caddo tribe.

// Photos by Joseph Eastburn

Below: OR-10, a female wolf from the Walla Walla pack. She was fitted with a radio collar and released in 2011 in northern Umatilla County.

// Photo courtesy Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

It is a sunny day in late May as Klavins and Sykes walk through an alpine meadow interspersed with stands of trees: lodgepole pine, Doug fir, tamarack and the occasional light-green aspen (protected by “exclosures” to keep the cattle, elk and deer that graze on this land from eating them to the ground). They scramble up a bluff where biscuit root, which has small yellow flowers, is blooming. The smell of wild garlic is in the air. The two men duck under a fallen pine, passing elk droppings and a large, messy pile of bear dung.

Klavins and Sykes stop at a clearing overlooking a vast expanse of trees when a movement in the bushes to the left turns their heads. The chances of seeing an actual wolf may be one in a thousand, but on that day, the duo has hit the jackpot. A grizzled black and gray wolf with large ears and long, thin legs trots toward the group. Ears pricked forward, the wolf raises his head, stops short and stares for just an instant, then tucks his tail between his legs and slinks away.

Protected by the trees and out of sight, he starts yipping, barking and howling — alerting the pack, perhaps, to the presence of intruders. Later I will learn this wolf is OR-4, a wolf that was once targeted for extermination for killing livestock. Wolves remain a lightning rod for controversy in Eastern Oregon. But as wolf recovery gains traction and as tourists flock in greater numbers to see them, stakeholders are working hard to find a way that ranchers, conservationists and business owners can all come together to benefit. “It’s a process of people adapting to the reality of what’s here,” admits Sheehy, the rancher who lost cows to wolf predation. “There is not any way in hell that wolves are going to be removed from Eastern Oregon,” he adds. “It’s become a fact of life.” Sheehy chuckles. “If you can make bucks off people who want to go out and look at wolf scat, I guess that’s okay with me.”

Comments

If these people want to watch wolves then they can take them into their backyards to watch them. The wolves are destructive in areas that have no defense as they have been wolf-free for a long time. If the wolves are meant to re-populate they will do so naturally, without being transplanted.

I stand corrected. These wolves were transplanted into Idaho and have moved into Oregon. If they had not been transplanted into Idaho there wouldn't be a problem. Livestock and wildlife - deer, elk and sheep populations have suffered greatly due to the wolf population.

...Except that they were already making there way back into NW Montana on their own before they were reintroduced...and the wolves in WA have made their way back on their own.

It was only a matter of time before wolves made their way back to Oregon with or without help. In any case, I really don't think this is the right forum for debating the nuances of wolf populations.

I for one am excited I don't have to get in an airplane or drive 16 hours to go to Yellowstone or Denali. I'm looking forward to a trip to Wallowa County. I'll be sure to check out Barking Mad Farm. It would be great to see a list of businesses in the area that support wolves and other native wildlife. That's where I'd spend my money.

I recommend that anyone wanting to truly know about wolves and their culture, read the book "Wolves at my Door". Too often we kill before we think..... and in that act loose what is important in keeping our eco system in balance. I love the ingenious way in which Oregon people keep reinventing themselves in ways that harmonize with nature. I hope the wolf tourism is a resounding success!

If there were 10 million Native Americans here when whiteman arrived eating animals for food and clothing .....isn't places like Yellowstone "unnatural" isn't a key component of the eco-system missing?

This is the most carefully researched and written article I have read on Oregon wolves and it is remarkable that it appears in a business publication. Being familiar with Wallowa County, I can say the author got the general local tone on the wolf issue dead on, and it's very encouraging that the area can benefit from wolves both ecologically and economically.

Great article !!! If the cattle people would switch to the long surviving, crafty, smarter buffalo, losses would probably go down, and profits go up. Would be happy to help farmers convert to "tatanka."

Just a small point to ponder while we read this insighful article - while various groups advocate for their interests, they place their own, extrinsic values on wolves. Do wolves no longer have an intrinsic value to them? There is value in just being a wolf, or any part of the earth for that matter. Not trying to incite any argumnents here, just commenting.

Can anyone point to the recent scientific findings on a study done in Oregon that shows that when wolf populations are destroyed or greatly reduced, the killings of farm animals goes up? I read it but somehow did not keep the reference.

Wolves were here first. Not the livestock owners or subdivisions, etc. Livestock owners could have used fencing and livestock guardian dogs for years to coexist with wildlife. Homeowners can use fencing too. The idea that humans have the right to get rid of apex predators who keep a balance in nature is so selfish, short-sighted and frankly pretty stupid. Nature always reminds us when we screw with nature and remove a necessary part of it. Predator and prey have lived together just fine and kept a balance in nature until we came along. People can co-exist with wildlife and make a living if they care about anything other than their own selves. Tourism also brings in a lot of money. People want to see the wolves, the bears, the mountain lions, etc and not the ranchers ruining the land. Yes, we need to make a living but we need the wildlife too and the fencing and the livestock guardian dogs and non animal abusive methods of hunting are all ways to co-exist with nature and wildlife. There is no need for trapping or any other method of hunting that makes the animal suffer to make it easier to kill it. The kill shot works just fine and is only necessary with an overpopulation of prey animals caused by short-sighted people who think predators don't belong in the wild. The predators are not the problem but humans sure are.

Having lived within a reintroduced wolf population for 25+ years I can attest to the ability of prey populations to adjust to the presence of a new (long missing) predator. They suffer higher loss in the beginning but quickly (1-2 generations) adapt behavior to avoid the predator during birthing, resting and feeding. Similar behavioral changes can be seen every fall when the gun season opens and the deer quickly go night active. Reported hunter deer harvest in the wolf recovery area has been steadily increasing consistent with the rest of the state for decades. Surely it is within our ability and ethical responsibility as the "chosen" species to adjust our livestock and pet ownership behavior as well. Wolves are opportunists, just make your animals NOT the easiest choice available.

When one these liberal fools that venture out to Eastern Oregon for "wolf tourism" is attacked or killed by one of these predators, they will change thier tune! Our ancestors eradicated these predators for a good reason.

Tri-Met area voters need a reality check. Until ODFW institutes a policy of capturing cougars and wolves then releasing them into Washington County, the rest of the state will remain terrorized by left-wing voters and their atrocious lack of foresight. A few weeks of dealing with the fruits of their misguided votes would have Washington County residents clamoring for a special election to right their wrongs.

Please take the time to learn about wolves and their culture.... finding ways to live in balance with nature is an honoring of the earth and all creatures who live here. A great book is "Wolves at Our Door by the Duetchers who spent several years living in close proximity too wolves and as educated naturalists recorded their behaviors etc.... no attacks or even close misses! All of the fear of wild animals is what has brought us to a place of having only 10% of our animal species still alive. Let's learn to live with the rest.... this is their home too.!

I think all the people against helping the wolves would learn a lot from the loss of the Yellowstone wolves. There was a huge debate over their impact so they were shoo'd out of the park. Eventually, teh deer and elk population got so out of hand that the trees and plant life near the ground were being practically stripped due to over breeding. There was a huge tic problem that began to develop on top of it all. It's a very important topic because it shows us just how important natures already created checks and balances are. Without the wolves the entire park suffered drastically. We can learn a lot from the mistakes made at Yellowstone.If you are interested here is a scholarly article discussing the proposal to reintroduce the wolves. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08941928909380693#.UtW7OfRDsqg

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